Well, I just started another consular, a seer healer this time - and I've never played a healer before. My primary character is an infiltration shadow, my other fifties are marksmanship sniper, a combat sentinel and I got a pyrotech powertech on level 41 - all damage dealers. It my first healer as well, solely acting based on what I know I expect of healers. I've just reached level 22 with this char but I enjoying that I don't have to wait so long for flashpoints very much. I can't say I share the experience so far though.

 

I've even got compliments on a heroic 4 in a group with one player who didn't seem to speak English, always attacked the ones I was ccing (I think he thought he was supposed to do just that) and caused unnecessary additional aggro in the final boss fight. It was one hell of a struggle to try and keep every one alive, not waste a single point of Force but always heal when necessary... but in the end I it and it felt good that others appreciated my performance as well.

 

It's not that I didn't make any mistakes at all and there have been wipes on my account (well, at least one with the final boss in Hammer Station when I died out of own stupidity), but I never had the feeling my team was unappreciative. There is a lot of clueless people around these days, a lot people who don't know anything about triad team combat in general, and the powers and effects in SW:TOR in particular - but I am not generally blamed for problems...

good post. I have two healers, a sorc and sage, although I think my Sorc is a bit better at healing, being in many FP's, I've very rarely been singled out for bad healing. It happens, but in a mature group, no issues. There will always be one jerk who will try and make you the scapegoat for his poor tanking. You know the guy, the one that is rushing through the FP taking shortcuts and leaving everyone behind?

i have NEVER played a healing class before ever and this is my first attempt, but no matter what happens i always fail. i am about sick to death of moronic dbags verbally abusing me and trashing me because i dont keep their health bars maxed out. what is the use of playing when all i ever see is negativity in this game? i cant even find a decent guild that has actual mature people in it...what a waste....

What server?

There will always be one jerk who will try and make you the scapegoat for his poor tanking. You know the guy, the one that is rushing through the FP taking shortcuts and leaving everyone behind?

That's only poor tanking if he can't hold his ground against mobs he does pull. If that's not the case, follow the goddamned tank and don't stray from his path.

10 - People do not follow the tank's path and end up aggroing needlessly

11 - People presume the tank will aggro a mob and end up aggroing needlessly

12 - People do not pay attention to their positioning and end up aggroing needlessly

13 - People do not pay attention and end up breaking Shadow Tank's soft CC

14 - People aggroing needlessly cause over-aggro and a subsequent wipe

15 - People are not smart enough to out from under the droid boss in Maelstrom Prison

16 - People still use their leap ability on the ledge in Esseles and fall through it

 

I am guilty of #3, but only the rushing ahead part. I pay attention to what the people are doing, but I'm not about to wait for everyone to signal me they're ready to continue in order to move on. If someone decides to go AFK without announcing it, they better do it somewhere they won't aggro a patrol.

 

When I'm playing dps, the thing I hate the most is a slow tank. Some tanks wait a few seconds after a group has been killed to start moving again. Then they stand a few seconds in front of the next group before they aggro. It drives me insane. Those constant, needless delays. I start moving when the last mob in the group is about to die and I throw my lightsaber at it in the process. If the tank is especially slow and wastes time to pick up drops (which is a healer's job), I'll jump into the mob, pop my defensive cooldowns and take half of them out by the time the lazypants tank decides to join.

 

When I'm on my main, Shadow tank, I'll run ahead using rocket boosters and Force Speed. In most of the situations I end up using my soft CC in peace and aggroing the rest of the mob. Other times I wait for patrols to pass me by or get to a position in which the team can slip by them. That is, if the follow me. In those rare occassions a dps manages to aggro something before me they've usually aggroed a mob that is skippable. I leave them to deal with it and proceed to aggro the mob that should be aggroed. if they start a discussion in party chat, I just repeat the „please follow the tank“ from the start of the flashpoint. Smarter ones figure out I'm saying that in the best interests of the group. Dumber ones repeat it and get killed again. L33t ones call me a f***t and leave. Each result is a good one from my perspective.

Wow, you sound like an awful tank to heal for, can you imagine being a Scoundrel/Trooper heal that doesn't have rocket boots, there's no way they could keep up and you starting the fight would only slow those behind you further. And you just leave the group if they aggro accidentally? Leave the healer having to heal dps who probably also won't be able to hold aggro from the healer potentially causing a wipe that just slows down everything and could have been avoided by you simply turning back and tanked? Does that sound ridiculous to anyone else? You're even the class that can best handle getting back to the group quickly if you've managed to get stupidly far ahead.

By all means try and avoid trash packs but just abandoning your group like that for something that could be as simple as being less than a meter off the path you're probably too far ahead for them to see is just silly and a potential waste of time for everyone which seems to be the only thing you care about. Also did it ever occur to you the wait was to allow people to regen resources/make sure everyone has caught up and is ready to start the fight? And who says it's the healer's job to pick up drops? What makes healers any better at picking up drops than other roles? If anything tanks/melee dps are best suited to this as they're already among the bodies and can do it while the healer/ranged dps are moving up after the fight.

Anyway rant over, if all the encounters are happening as you say op then it seems like poor tanking/dpsing as they're not keeping mobs off you, even in low level situations where the tank doesn't have all their area abilities if the tank is holding 2 or 3 of the stronger mobs while dps clear the weaker ones you should have 1 maybe 2 weak mobs tops attacking you and those should really be pulled off asap if the tank/dps are paying attention. Unfortunately if you are in a low level group it's more likely people won't know how to fully play the role and the healer is usually the one to take the blame.

In this situation the best thing you can do is work out how to play their roles and tell them what they're doing wrong. They may not listen but at least no one can honestly say you didn't try. Still this is a bit tricky without playing each role to 50 so the easiest way may be to just grin and bear it, do what you can and try to learn to deal with the adds while healing, it'll make you a better healer if you manage it. The other alternative is to find a guild who have experienced players leveling alts or whatever that you can run group content with and may be able to help with learning the class, and trust me if this is your first character on your first mmo once you do learn the class it's crazy how much you weren't aware of before, at least in my experience.

Wow, you sound like an awful tank to heal for, can you imagine being a Scoundrel/Trooper heal that doesn't have rocket boots, there's no way they could keep up and you starting the fight would only slow those behind you further.

I'm awful to heal for only if you're alt-tabbing to *** instead of paying attention. Otherwise I'm more than capable taking any HM FP mob head on and dealing with them until the rest of the team catches up. Been doing that ever since Rakata gear and see no reason why to stop now in full DG.

And you just leave the group if they aggro accidentally?

Considering I start every FP with "Is anyone inexperienced here?", "Please follow the tank, don't aggro mobs I skip and enjoy the ride", yeah - I have no problems leaving people that aggro easily skippable mobs. Them doing so signals me they're fully capable of holding their own against the mob they've just pulled and I leave them be. And if they aggro a patrol after ignoring my "Please stand here and here to avoid mobs", that's their choice. I mean, I'm trying to show them the fastest and the safest way to go about a flashpoint. If they dont want to listen to stuff I'm typing, they obviously want to learn by making a mistake. That's all fine by me.

By all means try and avoid trash packs but just abandoning your group like that for something that could be as simple as being less than a meter off the path you're probably too far ahead for them to see is just silly and a potential waste of time for everyone which seems to be the only thing you care about. Also did it ever occur to you the wait was to allow people to regen resources/make sure everyone has caught up and is ready to start the fight?

Health, force and ammo bars are fully visible in the party screen and I pay attention to them. What I don't believe in is that everyone needs to be at full health, full force and full ammo to engage the next mob. It's a flashpoint for crying out loud. And yes, finishing the flashpoint in a timely manner is of big concern to me since I've ran each and every one of them a hundred times. Soft CC = win.

And who says it's the healer's job to pick up drops? What makes healers any better at picking up drops than other roles? If anything tanks/melee dps are best suited to this as they're already among the bodies and can do it while the healer/ranged dps are moving up after the fight.

Common sense. The healer is not needed in order to engage a mob. Tank and dps are. CC's, aggro control, interrupts and correct kill order are key. My point is - both the tank and the dps are fully capable of engaging any given FP mob and holding their own until the healer catches up. There's no point in standing around a killed mob and contemplating whether to hit need or greed. Do it on the fly while unleashing hell upon the next mob.

I'm awful to heal for only if you're alt-tabbing to *** instead of paying attention. Otherwise I'm more than capable taking any HM FP mob head on and dealing with them until the rest of the team catches up. Been doing that ever since Rakata gear and see no reason why to stop now in full DG.

 

 

Considering I start every FP with "Is anyone inexperienced here?", "Please follow the tank, don't aggro mobs I skip and enjoy the ride", yeah - I have no problems leaving people that aggro easily skippable mobs. Them doing so signals me they're fully capable of holding their own against the mob they've just pulled and I leave them be. And if they aggro a patrol after ignoring my "Please stand here and here to avoid mobs", that's their choice. I mean, I'm trying to show them the fastest and the safest way to go about a flashpoint. If they dont want to listen to stuff I'm typing, they obviously want to learn by making a mistake. That's all fine by me.

 

 

Health, force and ammo bars are fully visible in the party screen and I pay attention to them. What I don't believe in is that everyone needs to be at full health, full force and full ammo to engage the next mob. It's a flashpoint for crying out loud. And yes, finishing the flashpoint in a timely manner is of big concern to me since I've ran each and every one of them a hundred times. Soft CC = win.

 

 

Common sense. The healer is not needed in order to engage a mob. Tank and dps are. CC's, aggro control, interrupts and correct kill order are key. My point is - both the tank and the dps are fully capable of engaging any given FP mob and holding their own until the healer catches up. There's no point in standing around a killed mob and contemplating whether to hit need or greed. Do it on the fly while unleashing hell upon the next mob.

Nice, with an opinion of healers that low I'm amazed you haven't found your way to the ignore list of every healer on your server, on which note what server are you on and what are your character names, I'd like to add you to ignore if you're on my server on the grounds I'd hate to run a HM with you, especially as a healer who is apparently only useful at maybe one or two of the bosses and aside from that may as well just be on item collection duty.

In Ops, healers are going to be dealing the least amount of threat, and most likely taking the least amount of damage, in most circumstances. We almost always guard the highest dps, especially the melee. Even with threat drops being used (and not all dps have them), a dps pulling threat can really screw things up, and we don't really want them holding back either when there are enrage timers.

Yes, I see your point for OPs. Thanks

Nice, with an opinion of healers that low I'm amazed you haven't found your way to the ignore list of every healer on your server, on which note what server are you on and what are your character names, I'd like to add you to ignore if you're on my server on the grounds I'd hate to run a HM with you, especially as a healer who is apparently only useful at maybe one or two of the bosses and aside from that may as well just be on item collection duty.

+1

Having to heal in "catch up mode" is such a frustrating experience mainly because it causes healers to be less efficient and burn thru resources unnecessarily.

I too would usually prefer to pass on such fast run strategies.

+1

 

Having to heal in "catch up mode" is such a frustrating experience mainly because it causes healers to be less efficient and burn thru resources unnecessarily.

 

I too would usually prefer to pass on such fast run strategies.

I find "catch up mode" to be only acceptable when running with guildies, because then I know who's capable of what and that if they die, they won't rage-fit all over everything.

I don't care if you're the magical tank/DPS of awesome-sauce and you create flowers and cupcakes in your wake and nothing can ever ruin your day because LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, slow down. Don't wake Mr. Cranky.

Nice, with an opinion of healers that low I'm amazed you haven't found your way to the ignore list of every healer on your server, on which note what server are you on and what are your character names, I'd like to add you to ignore if you're on my server on the grounds I'd hate to run a HM with you, especially as a healer who is apparently only useful at maybe one or two of the bosses and aside from that may as well just be on item collection duty.

I concur.

As much as I love playing my Tank, I play Healer nearly as much, and if the Tank is acting in such a way, I won't hesitate to exit the group, and immediately throw that Tank on the ignore list, and pass the message along to the guild members who are online.

Nice, with an opinion of healers that low I'm amazed you haven't found your way to the ignore list of every healer on your server,

Quite the contrary, my dear Sir. The vast majority of people I meet in flashpoints tend to appreciate having a capable tank that will get the group through both fast and without wipes. Those healers who are too busy arguing how they need to be guarded and too busy picking their noses to be able to play with a bit of cencentration end up on my ignore list.

In regards to your assumption about my opinion of healers, 4500 hours of playing a dedicated healer/support says "you're grasping at straws".

..on which note what server are you on and what are your character names, I'd like to add you to ignore if you're on my server on the grounds I'd hate to run a HM with you, especially as a healer who is apparently only useful at maybe one or two of the bosses and aside from that may as well just be on item collection duty.

Please read the underlined text a few times until the stupidity of it finally sinks in. Never have I questioned the usefulness of healers; I have merely pointed out that they are not needed to engage a mob. Since there's always a chance I haven't been able to convey my message clearly (English not being my native tongue and all), I'll give it one more shot: You don't need to be at full health and full force/ammo in order to engage a flashpoint mob. CC's available to the tank and two dps combined with proper kill order, aggro control and interrupts give this trio enough manouverability to successfully negotiate the first 10-20 seconds of every encounter. Healers are usually in range at the 10 second mark, if not earlier, due to close positioning and predictability of mobs.

That said, the server is Red Ecplise and character names are Euphrosyne, Mnemosyne and Kalliope. Stay frosty.

+1

 

Having to heal in "catch up mode" is such a frustrating experience mainly because it causes healers to be less efficient and burn thru resources unnecessarily.

 

I too would usually prefer to pass on such fast run strategies.

I heal, dps and tank in this way. It is by no means hard on the healer if the tank/dps know what they are doing. In fact chain pulling in a skilled group is incredibly rewarding. I mostly do this as a dps or a tank as my healer is sadly an imp, but on the occasions that I do get to play him with guildees I love it.

I do not pug often and usually when i do its a second dps we are in need of but there are times we pug a healer. We do not make their life hell. In fact, we often get complemented on how fun the run was. Recently recruited a new scoundrel healer in this way. If you mostly pug I can understand your concern more as in the few pugs I have run alone or just with other dps I have noticed a tremendous decrease in quality of pugged players since as late as the summer when I pugged more frequently. A lot of the few new full pugs have been downright awful with people doing the mistakes listed above by several posters. I don't know if I just did not notice this all before as I was less skilled than I am now or if it is just that ftp has tanked the skill level of the average player. Perhaps a combination of both. In any case I would advise you find a good guild to run with and I am sure you will see the virtues of fast pulling a fp.

That said dps and tank need to know what they are doing as i said: it bears repeating. They need to know the encounters and how to dps or tank them well, i.e. how to kill the group and hold aggro most efficiently for the least damage. If they do there is really no disadvantage to the healer unless they cannot manage their heals at all. In such cases, me and my guildees do slow down but with a skilled healer there is no need. That is to say it is not "catch up mode" unless one of two things happens: the dps and tank are unskilled or the healer is. Most often it will be the former as it takes a lot to mess up healing good dps and tanks in fps. But there are casual healers and learning healers who understandably do.

Also I must say it is irresponsible to leave accidental aggro messes to those that made the mess. 90% of the time they do not engage in the pull purposely desiring to do it alone as was suggested. It may just be that they do not pay complete attention or do not know the flashpoint or that they screw up. If they keep doing it, yes it is obnoxious but calm down and realize that flashpoints are casual content. Do not expect every player to play to a high level of skill: they do not need to and they are not committed to. As such it is just plain rude to leave them to die. Learn to respect other players' game. Not everyone is here to play their class optimally and beat the hardest bosses, some just want to taste the lowest hanging fruit of the eg and there is no problem with that. So when you are among them, be respectful and courteous.

The main way you pull aggro as a healer is from putting heals on the tank before he has a chance to build threat. If you have HoTs running on him, or a bubble before he pulls, then you will move to the top of the threat list instantly before he does any damage. You are also the only thing in the threat table of any new adds that appear, before anyone does any damage to them. This is why the tank or DPS are supposed to pick up adds when they appear, so that they don't make a beeline for you.

That said, be sure you're fully heal specced and geared well for your level. Learn to use your threat dump on CD, because that's what keeps your threat capped at a low level over the course of a fight (unlike the tank, who if he's using taunts on CD will have continuously increasing threat the whole time, leaving you well behind). Make sure you're stacking the right mods like main stat + power.

It sounds like you're playing Sorc / Sage, so you should be able to tank one add just fine with bubble + your self-only heal, and maybe a medpac if you really get in trouble (yes, you should have medpacs with you). Remember you have a knockback and stun, and maybe save your force lift for self-defense if you feel like you need more CC. Also make sure you remember to drop your AOE heal where you can stand in it if you're taking damage. And know your rotation; there is a setup heal you should be using every time before your major heals, because it either boosts their effect or cuts their cost. Knowing all your tools and when to use them is pretty important for a cast healer, since you can't just spam the same two HoTs the whole fight.

Most low level content is easy enough that you should be able to keep up as a healer even with the typical PUG silliness. Your job is to keep the tank alive, and his job is to keep you alive. If you're both alive at the end of the fight, then you won. If the DPS die, 99 times out of 100 it's their own fault, but they'll blame you anyway. Just tune it out, or if they're over the top with it, put them on /ignore and you won't get grouped with them again (they're probably on other healers' and tanks' ignore lists already anyway).

4 - The DPS'ers won't kill the adds, and go for the boss, often leaving the Healer struggling to keep themselves alive

.

I have found in this situation I put a buble and regen on tank turn around and put sprint on. that way the MOBs chase after me away from the fight. If they ask what I'm doing I ask why it is all the mobs are chasing me!

If I get abuse I tell them to learn their rolls, whisper the Tank telling him I'm unwilling to run with useless DPS and ask him to queue with me if he wants...then leave

Common sense. The healer is not needed in order to engage a mob. Tank and dps are. CC's, aggro control, interrupts and correct kill order are key. My point is - both the tank and the dps are fully capable of engaging any given FP mob and holding their own until the healer catches up. There's no point in standing around a killed mob and contemplating whether to hit need or greed. Do it on the fly while unleashing hell upon the next mob.

I totally agree, if for some reason my force is low I will stand and regen while the tank goes on, most good tanks are clever enough to pop their CD if they realise they are taking to much damage and not being healed. Trash mobs are not really a danger to a good tank, and I've never know it to take more than a Reju and Healing T and a couple of Bens to put one at max.

I also would prefer a quick run in FP so this suits me fine.

If I was still playing on the Red Eclipes you could go on my friend list

Also I must say it is irresponsible to leave accidental aggro messes to those that made the mess.

It is irresponsible, yes. Just as not following the tank or ignoring his suggestions is.

"Please don't crouch there, you'll aggro the patrol."

"Don't stand under the boss once he pulls you in. Run out."

"Move behind me please, the patrol is coming."

BAM! Healer and sent get hit for 10k each, slinger aggroes the champ droid that patrols.

"Move behind me."

BAM! Healer and sent are dead, slinger is about to die.

*Force Cloak* *Blackout* *Force Speed*

"Let's try this again but with paying attention to the tank."

Either they start learning or they leave in ignorance to annoy some other unlucky team. I prefer the first option, but to each their own.

I also would prefer a quick run in FP so this suits me fine.

If I was still playing on the Red Eclipes you could go on my friend list

Thank you for the vote of confidence.

"Don't stand under the boss once he pulls you in. Run out."

I get yelled at about this one all the time in Maelstrom Prison. I run out on my sawbones and sentinel, but I take the punishment on my infil shadow if Resilience is up. Tank typing "GET OUT", I ignore and keep burning, GET OUT.....It is over and I am still setting at 90% or more health..., never get a sorry for yelling at you either. Even if I take a 9K hit I'm still over 50% health and can pop a medpac and a defensive cooldown if something happens. Not going to die on that fight.

I have healed that fight many times too, so I do understand it can be difficult for healers especially when dps is clueless, however dps that knows their abilities and when to hit them can make the fight very easy, even when they do stuff that seems stupid like staying in during punishment.

It is irresponsible, yes. Just as not following the tank or ignoring his suggestions is.

 

"Please don't crouch there, you'll aggro the patrol."

"Don't stand under the boss once he pulls you in. Run out."

"Move behind me please, the patrol is coming."

BAM! Healer and sent get hit for 10k each, slinger aggroes the champ droid that patrols.

"Move behind me."

BAM! Healer and sent are dead, slinger is about to die.

*Force Cloak* *Blackout* *Force Speed*

"Let's try this again but with paying attention to the tank."

 

Either they start learning or they leave in ignorance to annoy some other unlucky team. I prefer the first option, but to each their own.

 

 

 

Thank you for the vote of confidence.

Standing behind the tank is in many cases the worst thing you can possibly do, because a lot of bosses use forward cone attacks, most of the time only short range, but sometimes long range... As a melee damage dealer I usually take the side of the enemy opposing the boss. Since my primary character is a shadow as well, I just don't worry too much about aggro as long as Force Cloak isn't on cooldown. I had times with my healer in Hammer Station when I was seriously considering that the tank was trying to get me killed, by moving so that I was caught in the blaster fire and had to move out in the open.

Quite the contrary, my dear Sir. The vast majority of people I meet in flashpoints tend to appreciate having a capable tank that will get the group through both fast and without wipes. Those healers who are too busy arguing how they need to be guarded and too busy picking their noses to be able to play with a bit of cencentration end up on my ignore list.

 

In regards to your assumption about my opinion of healers, 4500 hours of playing a dedicated healer/support says "you're grasping at straws".

 

 

Please read the underlined text a few times until the stupidity of it finally sinks in. Never have I questioned the usefulness of healers; I have merely pointed out that they are not needed to engage a mob. Since there's always a chance I haven't been able to convey my message clearly (English not being my native tongue and all), I'll give it one more shot: You don't need to be at full health and full force/ammo in order to engage a flashpoint mob. CC's available to the tank and two dps combined with proper kill order, aggro control and interrupts give this trio enough manouverability to successfully negotiate the first 10-20 seconds of every encounter. Healers are usually in range at the 10 second mark, if not earlier, due to close positioning and predictability of mobs.

 

That said, the server is Red Ecplise and character names are Euphrosyne, Mnemosyne and Kalliope. Stay frosty.

Please see the underlined bit, don't know if this is a mis-translation or they actually mean something different in your first language but saying someone isn't needed in the role they're trying to play is pretty much synonymous with calling them useless within that situation.

As for the first paragraph, there's getting through quickly then there's hurtling through without stopping to take a breath. I also find it odd that you seem to believe a fight could only possibly be started on purpose and there's absolutely no possibility a player could accidentally walk less than a meter off the track and pull a group without meaning to. Most excess pulls I encounter are the result of a mistake rather than someone purposefully pulling another group just for the laughs.

Okay, I'll bite just for the fun of it...

Please see the underlined bit, don't know if this is a mis-translation or they actually mean something different in your first language but saying someone isn't needed in the role they're trying to play is pretty much synonymous with calling them useless within that situation.

It's not a mistranslation for two reasons: 1) I do not write posts in my native language only to translate them before posting, and 2) you're failing to comprehend a simple statement for the third time now. That tells me you're either trolling or simple.

You took my "the healer is not needed for the team to engage a mob" and somehow extrapolated that I have healers in low regard and consider them needed only occassionaly. I've explained it twice. In detail. You're still not getting it. Seriously? Come on.

As for the first paragraph, there's getting through quickly then there's hurtling through without stopping to take a breath. I also find it odd that you seem to believe a fight could only possibly be started on purpose and there's absolutely no possibility a player could accidentally walk less than a meter off the track and pull a group without meaning to. Most excess pulls I encounter are the result of a mistake rather than someone purposefully pulling another group just for the laughs.

What you call "stopping for a breath" I call wasting time. Current flashpoints are such that everyone regenerates on the move while skipping the skippable and are above 90% once the next mob is engaged. As I said a few times already - one does not need to be at full health, force or ammo to aggro any flashpoint mob.

As for the pulls, you might want to read my first post again. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned all sorts of situations where people aggro. Let me repeat once more (although I know it won't have any effect): 1) people presume the tank is going to take the path they're used to and engage, 2) people have no idea where to position themselves and aggro a patrol or get knocked back into another mob, 3) people do not listen to the tank and end up aggroing more mobs, 4) people break tank's soft cc, 5) people stick to the old ways of doing flashpoints and aggro needlessly, 6) people will intentionally aggro out of spite.

I think that about covers it.

P.S. Please accept my sincerest apologies for providing false information in one of my previous posts. I have erroneously stated having 4500 hours on a healer/support character. As it turns out, the number is 4700. Thank you for your time.

That particular example was for Maelstrom Prison, first droid boss where you really need to place yourself behind the tank (in the corridor) as not to aggro the droid that patrols on the other side. Almost every rdps will plant themselves in the path of that patrol if not prompted to move behind the tank.

Then you're right of course.

I think I've never done this flashpoint without removing the patrol first... thus I couldn't imagine the situation. Which may be the problem - a ranged damage dealer who has done a billion times over without ever having to worry about it may spool off their routine until it's too late. Completely overlooking a patrol is still pretty dumb though, especially if you said something before.

I know I skip everything that can be skipped and that people are not used to shadow tanks actually using their soft cc strategically. Because of that, I start my FP runs with a greeting, followed by "please follow the tank". I try to give instructions along the way in hopes of avoiding confusion and needless aggro.

For instance, the three power generators in Battle of Ilum - I'll routinely say something like "you guys take out the right one and wait for me at the hangar door". Most people listen, some voice their confusion. Jaws drop when they realise I've destroyed two generators without entering combat. On bad days I'll get a know-it-all who will drop AoE on every mob they can.

Had a Scoundrel healer when tanking BoI last night as Vanguard. The guy said he'd take care of the two power stations on the left while we take out the third one. Friended that gem of a healer immediately.

 

When I'm on my main, Shadow tank, I'll run ahead using rocket boosters and Force Speed. In most of the situations I end up using my soft CC in peace and aggroing the rest of the mob. Other times I wait for patrols to pass me by or get to a position in which the team can slip by them. That is, if the follow me. In those rare occassions a dps manages to aggro something before me they've usually aggroed a mob that is skippable. I leave them to deal with it and proceed to aggro the mob that should be aggroed. if they start a discussion in party chat, I just repeat the „please follow the tank“ from the start of the flashpoint. Smarter ones figure out I'm saying that in the best interests of the group. Dumber ones repeat it and get killed again. L33t ones call me a f***t and leave. Each result is a good one from my perspective.

You're the tank I hate grouping with, always rushing to the next pack when I'm trying to regen my force.